List of fracture zones

Fracture zones are common features in the geology of oceanic basins. Globally most fault zones are located on divergent plate boundaries on oceanic crust. This means that they are located around mid-ocean ridges and trend perpendicular to them. The term fracture zone is used almost exclusively for features on oceanic crust; similar structures on continental crust are instead termed transform or strike slip faults. Some use the term "transform fault" to describe the seismically and tectonically active portion of a fracture zone after John Tuzo Wilson's concepts first developed with respect to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.^[1] The term fracture zone has a distinct geological meaning, but it is also used more loosely in the naming of some oceanic features. Fracture zones are much longer than wide, but may have feature complexity within their width. Not all named fracture zones are active, indeed only the central portion of those still forming usually is, in an area of active transform faulting associated with a mid-ocean ridge. Classic fracture zones remain significant ocean floor features with usually different aged rocks on either side of the fracture zone due to past tectonic processes. Some fracture zones have been created by mid-ocean ridge segments that have been subducted and that part may no longer exist.

Approximate surface projection on oceans of named fracture zones (orange). Also shown are relevant present plate boundaries (white) and associated features (lighter orange). Click to expand to interactive map.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000001-QINU`"'

Major active fractures zones worldwide are in the orange shaded areas perpendicular to the black lines of the mid-ocean ridges of the major oceanic plates.

Pacific Ocean

Major Pacific trenches (1–10) and fracture zones (11–20): 1. Kermadec 2. Tonga 3. Bougainville 4. Mariana 5. Izu–Ogasawara 6. Japan 7. Kuril–Kamchatka 8. Aleutian 9. Middle America 10. Peru–Chile 11. Mendocino 12. Murray 13. Molokai 14. Clarion 15. Clipperton 16. Challenger 17. Eltanin 18. Udintsev 19. East Pacific Rise (S-shaped) 20. Nazca Ridge

Most fracture zones in the Pacific Ocean originate from large mid-ocean ridges (also called "rises") such as the East Pacific Rise, Chile Rise and Juan de Fuca Ridge. The plates that host the fractures are Nazca, Pacific, Antarctic, Juan de Fuca and Cocos among others. Fracture zones being subducted under Southern and Central America are generally southwest–northeast oriented reflecting the relative motion of Cocos, Nazca and the Antarctic plates.

Chile Rise

The fracture zones of the Chile Rise trend in a west to east fashion with the most southern ones taking a slightly more southwest to northeast orientation. This non-perpendicular relation to Chile's coast reflects the oblique subduction of Nazca plate under southern Chile. West of Chile rise the fracture zones are hosted in the Antarctic plate. Some fracture zones such as Chile and Valdivia make up large sections of the Nazca-Antarctic plate boundary.

Map of the Chile Rise and its fracture zones in Nazca and the Antarctic plates

Active Pacific Ocean fracture zones are perpendicular to the mid-ocean ridges (black lines) in orange shaded region. Since the map was prepared ages not shown of south-west Pacific and north Pacific Ocean floors may have been characterised.

Name	Minimum length in km	Length of transform boundary in km	Position at Ridge[2][3]
Chile fracture zone	2,250 (1,400)	1,100 (680)	35°32′24″S 104°37′3″W
Chiloé fracture zone	1,750 (1,090)	50 (30)	42°59′43″S 83°11′5″W
Darwin fracture zone		50 (30)	45°54′29″S 76°25′31″W
Desolación fracture zone		0
Esmeralda fracture zone		0	49°06′47″S 80°12′33″W
Guafo fracture zone	1,550 (960)	280 (170)	44°47′55″S 80°15′53″W
Guambin fracture zone	1,300 (810)	70 (40)	45°44′7″S 77°27′32″W
Madre de Dios fracture zone		0
Mocha fracture zone	450 (280)	0	39°14′24″S 77°22′59″W
Taitao fracture zone		0
Tres Montes fracture zone		0
Valdivia fracture zone	2,100 (1,300)	650 (400)	41°23′25″S 87°23′36″W

East Pacific Rise

The East Pacific Rise includes the Pacific–Antarctic Rise (Pacific plate and Antarctic plate boundary) in some usages and in others relates only to the boundaries between the Pacific plate and the Nazca plates which includes the Juan Fernández plate and Easter microplate.

Nazca plate boundary

Name	Minimum length in km	Length as plate boundary in km	Coordinates
Easter fracture zone
Mendaña fracture zone		0
Nazca fracture zone		0	19°49′28″S 77°35′53″W[3]
Quiros fracture zone		0

Pacific–Antarctic Rise

Name	Minimum length in km	Length as plate boundary in km	Coordinates
Challenger fracture zone
Menard fracture zone		0
Raitt fracture zone		0
Eltanin fracture zone		0
Heezen fracture zone		0
Tharp fracture zone		0
Udintsev fracture zone		0
Le Géographe fracture zone		0
Astronome fracture zone		0
Antipodes fracture zone		0
Le Petit Prince fracture zone		0
Saint-Exupéry fracture zone		0
Le Renard fracture zone		0
La Rose fracture zone		0
Heirtzler fracture zone		0
Pitman fracture zone		0
Erebus fracture zone		0

Cocos–Nazca spreading center

• Panama fracture zone

Western Pacific

Some of the fracture zones in the western Pacific Ocean are associated with the smaller plate boundaries of the active back-arc basin spreading center of the North Fiji Basin being the Hunter fracture zone and North Fiji fracture zone. The Parece Vela Rift (Parece Vela fracture zone province) is also associated with the back-arc basin of the Parece Vela Basin (West Mariana Basin) at the intersection of the Philippine Sea plate and Mariana plate.^{[4]: 70–73}

South of the Equator

• Vening Meinesz fracture zone
• Cook fracture zone
• Hunter fracture zone
• North Fiji fracture zone

North of the Equator

• Victoria fracture zone
• Central fracture zone
• Parece Vela Rift (Parece Vela fracture zone province)
  • Kokugan fracture zone
  • Owashi fracture zone
  • Ojirowashi fracture zone
  • Inuwashi fracture zone
  • Konotori fracture zone
  • Toki fracture zone
  • Tancho fracture zone
  • Raicho fracture zone
• Ortelius fracture zone
• Waghenaer fracture zone
• Rat fracture zone

West of East Pacific Rise and Gulf of California Rift Zone

A map of the Juan de Fuca plate

Age of ocean floor, with fracture zones in the north Pacific Ocean. Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain in black.

(some are inactive)^[5]

• Challenger fracture zone
• Austral fracture zone^[5]
• Marquesas fracture zone^[5]
• Galapagos fracture zone^[5]
• Clipperton fracture zone^[5]
• Clarion fracture zone^[5]

Juan de Fuca and Gorda Ridges

Surveyor, Molokai, Pioneer and Murray fracture zones shown in the list were created by ridge segments that no longer exist.^[5]

• Blanco fracture zone
• Surveyor fracture zone^[5]
• Mendocino fracture zone^[5]
• Pioneer fracture zone^[5]
• Murray fracture zone^[5]
• Molokai fracture zone^[5]
• Sovanco fracture zone

Northeast Pacific

• Sedna fracture zone
• Sila fracture zone
• Aja fracture zone
• Cobb fracture zone

Atlantic Ocean

Major fractures zones of the Atlantic can be seen on this ocean depth map

Active Atlantic Ocean fracture zones are perpendicular to the mid-ocean ridges (black lines) in orange shaded region

In the Atlantic Ocean most fracture zones originate from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which runs from north to south, and are therefore west to east oriented in general. There are about 300 fracture zones, with an average north–south separation of 55 kilometres (34 mi):^[6] two for each degree of latitude. Physically it makes sense to group Atlantic fracture zones into three categories:^[7]

1. Small offset: length of transform fault less than 30 kilometres (19 mi)
2. Medium offset: offset over 30 kilometers
3. Large offset: offset several hundreds of kilometers

Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Northern Hemisphere)

Name	Minimum length in km	Length of transform fault in km	Position at Ridge[2][3]
Saint Paul fracture zone[2]	1451	454	0.661°N 27.931°W / 0.661; -27.931
Saint Peter fracture zone[2]	333	40	2.532°N 31.008°W / 2.532; -31.008
Strakhov fracture zone[2] (formerly:Four North[8])	1814	100	3.933°N 32.116°W / 3.933; -32.116
Sierra Leone fracture zone[2]	1111	52	6.230°N 33.588°W / 6.230; -33.588
Bogdanov fracture zone[2]	173	84	7.135°N 34.351°W / 7.135; -34.351
Vernadsky fracture zone[2]	194	107	7.693°N 37.483°W / 7.693; -37.483
Doldrums fracture zone[2]	381	144	8.119°N 38.750°W / 8.119; -38.750
Arkhangelskiy fracture zone[2]	691	99	8.855°N 39.938°W / 8.855; -39.938
Vema fracture zone[2]	822	300	10.726°N 42.333°W / 10.726; -42.333
Mercurius[9]		39	12.132°N 43.924°W / 12.132; -43.924
Marathon fracture zone[9]		78	12.611°N 44.430°W / 12.611; -44.430
Fifteen Twenty fracture zone, also known as Barracuda or Cabo Verde[2]	1195	195[9]	15.320°N 45.871°W / 15.320; -45.871
Vidal fracture zone[7]		50	17.832°N 46.589°W / 17.832; -46.589
Luymes South fracture zone[7]		30	18.541°N 46.465°W / 18.541; -46.465
Luymes North fracture zone[7]		24	18.967°N 46.128°W / 18.967; -46.128
Snellius fracture zone[7]		41	20.616°N 45.756°W / 20.616; -45.756
Kane fracture zone[2]	1040	150[10]	23.718°N 45.583°W / 23.718; -45.583
Northern fracture zone[7]	1040	9	25.689°N 45.193°W / 25.689; -45.193
Tyro fracture zone[7]		15	29.365°N 43.007°W / 29.365; -43.007
Atlantis fracture zone[2]	843	66	30.068°N 42.372°W / 30.068; -42.372
Cruiser fracture zone[7]		9	32.323°N 40.195°W / 32.323; -40.195
Charis fracture zone[7]		13	33.059°N 39.628°W / 33.059; -39.628
Hayes fracture zone[2]	624	151	33.615°N 38.439°W / 33.615; -38.439
Oceanographer fracture zone[2]	751	148	35.149°N 35.562°W / 35.149; -35.562
Tydeman fracture zone		21	36.641°N 33.464°W / 36.641; -33.464
Pico fracture zone (to the west)[7][2]	719	67	37.468°N 31.899°W / 37.468; -31.899
East Azores fracture zone (to the east)[7][2]	758	67	37.468°N 31.899°W / 37.468; -31.899
Kurchatov fracture zone[2]	174	20	40.537°N 29.456°W / 40.537; -29.456
Petrov fracture zone[2]	74	9	40.537°N 29.456°W / 40.537; -29.456
Maxwell fracture zone[2]		21	47.636°N 27.527°W / 47.636; -27.527
Faraday fracture zone[2]	506	23	49.711°N 28.636°W / 49.711; -28.636
Charlie-Gibbs fracture zone[2]	2000	350[7]	52.624°N 33.198°W / 52.624; -33.198
Bight fracture zone[2]	336	23	56.721°N 33.792°W / 56.721; -33.792
Jan Mayen fracture zone[2]	374	211	71.372°N 9.405°E / 71.372; 9.405
Greenland fracture zone (to the west)[11]	0	365	74.04°N 8.82°E / 74.04; 8.82
Senja fracture zone (to the east)[11]	0	398	74.04°N 8.82°E / 74.04; 8.82

Fracture zones involved in the early opening of the North Atlantic

American side	African side
Hudson fracture zone
Snorri fracture zone
Cartwright fracture zone
Julian Haab fracture zone
Minna fracture zone
Leif fracture zone
Newfoundland fracture zone[12]
Kelvin fracture zone[13]	Canary fracture zone[13]
Cape Fear fracture zone[13]	Cape Verde fracture zone[13]
Bahama fracture zone[13]	Guinea fracture zone[13]

Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Southern Hemisphere)

Name	Minimum length in km	Length of transform fault in km	Position at Ridge[2][3]
Romanche fracture zone[2]	2445	950	0.49°S 20.49°W / -0.49; -20.49
Chain fracture zone[2]	1315	269	1.213°S 14.229°W / -1.213; -14.229
Ascension fracture zone[2]	1149	264	6.928°S 12.283°W / -6.928; -12.283
Bode Verde fracture zone[2]	3018	232	11.686°S 13.936°W / -11.686; -13.936
Cardno fracture zone[2]	1649	87	14.076°S 14.056°W / -14.076; -14.056
Tetyaev fracture zone[2]	810	122	16.271°S 13.719°W / -16.271; -13.719
Saint Helena fracture zone[2]	1184	19	16.617°S 14.344°W / -16.617; -14.344
Hotspur fracture zone[2]	1446	113	17.721°S 13.329°W / -17.721; -13.329
Martin Vaz fracture zone[2]	1324	26	18.594°S 12.633°W / -18.594; -12.633
Rio Grande fracture zone[2]	1774	156	29.081°S 13.067°W / -29.081; -13.067
Tristan Da Cunha fracture zone[2]	1014	26	38.388°S 16.796°W / -38.388; -16.796
Gough fracture zone[2]	1057	42	40.637°S 16.637°W / -40.637; -16.637
Conrad fracture zone (to the west)[2]	316	0	55.185°S 0.133°W / -55.185; -0.133
Bouvet fracture zone (to the east)[2]	198	0	55.185°S 0.133°W / -55.185; -0.133

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean fracture zones are mainly related to the Southwest Indian Ridge and Southeast Indian Ridge mid-ocean ridges.

Active Indian Ocean fracture zones are perpendicular to the mid-ocean ridges (black lines) in orange shaded region

• Diamantina fracture zone (not a true fracture zone)^[14]

Southwest Indian Ridge

• Bouvet fracture zone
• Moshesh fracture zone
• Islas Orcadas fracture zone
• Shaka fracture zone
• Dutoit fracture zone
• Prince Edward fracture zone
• Discovery II fracture zone
• Indomed fracture zone
• Gallieni fracture zone
• Atlantis II fracture zone^[15]
• Novara fracture zone^[15]
• Melville fracture zone^[15]

Carlsberg Ridge

• Owen fracture zone

Central Indian Ridge

• Bao Chuan fracture zone
• Mabahiss fracture zone
• Sealark fracture zone
• Vityaz fracture zone
• Vema fracture zone (not to be confused with fracture zone of same name in the Atlantic)
• Argo fracture zone
• Mary Celeste fracture zone
• Rodrigues fracture zone
• Mauritius Fault Zone
• Egeria fracture zone
• Flinders fracture zone

Lakshadweep-Chagos Ridge

• Vishnu Fault Zone

Southeast Indian Ridge

• Ter Tholen fracture zone
• Zeewolf fracture zone
• Nieuw Amsterdam fracture zone
• Vlamingh fracture zone
• Geelvinck fracture zone
• Zeehaen fracture zone
• Heemskerck fracture zone
• Saint Vincent fracture zone
• Gambier fracture zone
• Tasman fracture zone
• Balleny fracture zone

Southern Ocean

Active Southern Ocean fracture zones are perpendicular to the mid-ocean ridges (black lines) in orange shaded region

• Endurance Fault Zone
• Hjort fracture zone
• Emerald fracture zone
• Hero Fault Zone
• Kosminskaya fracture zone
• Quest Fault Zone
• Shackleton fracture zone
• Vinogradov fracture zone
• Proto Antipodes fracture zone^[16]